Most industrial and municipal processes require water treatment facilities to treat effluents returned to the environment. Such facilities typically represent a significant investment by the business/community, and the performance of the facility (or failure thereof) can seriously impact ongoing operations financially and in terms of operational continuity.
Moreover, not all effluent treatment requires the same technologies. Industrial effluents (such as is found at coal bed methane facilities or oil production sites, for example) all have different particulate, pollutant and/or biomass content inherent to both the industrial processes as well as the particular water and soil conditions found at the site. Municipal requirements would likewise vary depending on desired end-of-pipe quality and use (and again depending on the feed water present at the site).
Electrocoagulation processes, foam control processes and sludge control processes are all utilized in wastewater treatment. However, apparatus for performing such processes have heretofore required extensive maintenance and investment to assure proper operations, and have required extensive floor space for their installation. Moreover, some heretofore known apparatus have been inefficiently designed affecting both overall operation of the apparatus and plant as well as apparatus longevity. Present electrocoagulation art does not adequately address the mechanisms of flotation, sedimentation and the circulation effect of coagulant aggregation in the early stages as bridging flocs. In the electrocoagulation process, the partially lighter aggregated coagulants are transported to the liquid surface by their attachment onto the ascending electrolytic gas bubbles. The remaining, predominantly heavier, aggregated coagulants bridge to heavier, larger flocs and precipitate out into a sediment layer.
Therefore, improvement of such apparatus could still be utilized. Moreover, improved treatment technologies adapted to this and other uses can always be utilized given the criticality of provision and maintenance of clean water.